Introduction

Abstract

With the recent emergence of global environmental issues such as ozonelayer depletion, the loss of biodiversity, global warming and acid rain, the role of economics both in the causes of these problems and in the development of policy options are being examined thoroughly. The new environmental phenomenon with its global scale poses significant and serious threats on future generations. A particular branch of the studies on the economics of the environment analyzes the two-way interaction between trade and the environment. It may seem that the work on trade and environment is very recent as a result of the increased public awareness on actual and potential threats to global environment; nevertheless, the pioneers of this literature published their work as early as the beginning of 1970s (see, for example, Baumol 1971, Magee and Ford 1972, and Walter 1973). This literature is now quite substantial. We will explore different aspects of the trade and the environment literature in this monograph. It will be useful to see some of the trends regarding global environmental problems first.